Attracting, developing and retaining talent in the modern workforce – are you ready?

New joint research between Fosway Group, Skillsoft and SumTotal, reveals less than half of organisations are confident their approach is the right one for the changing modern workforce

Changes in the world of work, evolving employee expectations and advances in technology are creating a perfect storm that is transforming today’s workplace. Pitched against a backdrop of growing skills gaps, the pressure on organisations to rethink their talent approach – and systems – is intense. If you feel your HR, talent and learning efforts are behind the curve when it comes to dealing with these challenges then you’re not alone. This research shows that only 44% of professionals feel their talent management strategy is ‘ready’.

After 20 years of analysing HR, talent and learning data, it’s been fascinating to take a deeper look at the macro environment and the key factors affecting organisations today. Most of which are completely outside our control. But which if they aren’t acknowledged and adapted to, will leave organisations without the people and the skills needed to take them forward.

Key findings from over 400 research participants include:

Workplace culture is holding organisations back

Only 44% believe their talent management approach is ready for the modern workforce.

In only 16% of cases is organisational culture not a barrier to when looking to improve talent management processes

86% find managers’ skills and attitudes an issue when meeting the expectations of the modern workforce

88% find other priorities and time an issue when tackling change in the workplace

The structure of the modern workforce is changing all the time

Millennials are a distraction. Nearly half of respondents confirm that an agingworkforce is a growing trend in their organisation

45% highlight increasingly diverse teams

42% of employees work where their skills are in demand rather than because of company loyalty

27% of employees are contingent workers rather than permanent members of the payroll

Confidence in talent is precarious at best

In the most vulnerable areas of digital, soft skills, leadership and management skills, less than 15% of respondents think they have all the skills they need to succeed today, never mind tomorrow

Around 67% of our survey respondents say that workers now need to learn – and get up to speed – more quickly

Digital is everywhere

44% report that employees are working more often using a mobile device as their primary tool

55% report that collaboration and social media tools are key to working in their organisations

68% see the more and more impact of virtual technology on their workforce

There are so many buzz words swirling around our industry at the moment, gig economy, millennials, skills shortages, war for talent…the list goes on. But behind the hype are some stark realities for HR, talent and learning professionals and how we need to respond positively to really engage with the workers of today – and tomorrow.